Peripheral nerve block catheters are widely used for the administration of surgical anesthesia as well as post-operative and nonsurgical anesthesia. A peripheral nerve block catheter is inserted through a needle into a desired location in a patient's tissue along the patient's nerve. Anesthesia is then injected through the openings at the distal end of the catheter into the nerve location to selectively numb the desired location to reduce pain. These catheters sometimes include a conductor to allow nerve stimulation by electrical impulses.
Often these peripheral nerve block catheters are inserted into the nerve location for an extended period of time, especially during post-operative pain treatment. During this time, tissue growth may occur at openings of the catheter, such as between exposed coils on the device. This tissue growth may restrict flow of anesthetic from the catheter and result in tissue and nerve damage when the catheter is ultimately removed from the patient.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved conductive tip catheter to administer anesthesia and prevent the growth of tissue during extended dwell procedures.